13 days Laikipia Masai Mara Mombasa Vintage Safari

Day 1: Nairobi

Welcome to Africa!  Upon your arrival in Nairobi you will be greeted exiting baggage and then privately transferred to your hotel for the evening.  The following morning you’ll be picked up for your transfer to the Giraffe Manor. In Nairobi, you will find a city that is lively, cosmopolitan and full of contrasts. It’s a place of smart office workers, mansions and expensive suburban shopping centres as well as slums crowded with people struggling on as best they can. Displaying enormous vitality and buzz, Nairobi is one of Africa’s major cities and is East Africa’s hub for commerce, aid and increasingly, technology. It hard to imagine that this city of almost 5 million people celebrated its 100 th  anniversary in 1999 and that where it now stands, only Maasai manyattas stood barely a century ago! Overnight in Nairobi

Day 2: Nairobi

Today you will be picked up and transferred to Karen where you’ll enjoy your stay at the unique Giraffe Manor for one night. Built in 1932 by Sir David Duncan, Giraffe Manor is situated on 120 acres of land just a few miles from the centre of Nairobi in the suburb of Karen. In 1974 Jock Leslie-Melville, grandson of a Scottish earl, and his wife Betty, bought the Manor. They also founded the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) and proceeded to move five highly endangered Rothschild giraffe babies to their property where they were successfully reared and have since produced their own offspring. Betty chronicled these events in her book, Raising Daisy Rothschild. Exclusive, spacious and elegant, it is the only place in the world that you can feed giraffe from your second floor bedroom window, over the lunch table, or at the front door. This is meant to be more like a home than a hotel. You are encouraged to make yourself completely at home – settle down and read a book, admire the view, help yourself to a drink. Staying at Giraffe Manor also contributes towards saving endangered species and educating local school children about conservation, as a portion of your fee is donated to these causes. We recommend a visit to the Sheldrick Animal Orphanage around 5pm today. This is a semi- private viewing where you could meet the baby elephant your family has pre-adopted. Overnight in Nairobi

Days 3-5: Laikipia 

This morning you will be picked up at the Giraffe Manor and transferred to Wilson Airport for your flight to Lewa in the Laikipia region.  Upon landing you will be met and driven to your first safari destination, Borana. The Laikipia Plateau is a vast expanse of wild country covering over 3000 square miles between Mt Kenya and the Rift Valley. The Laikipia Wildlife Forum has brought together privately owned ranches and communal grazing areas, creating an immense wildlife area. The ranches are actively involved in eco-tourism and conservation projects alongside local communities. Wildlife moves freely throughout the area and with few other tourists and the freedom to leave your vehicle, Laikipia offers a unique experience. Overnight in  Laikipia

Days 6-8: Serian Camp, Masai Mara

Today you’ll be flying from Lewa down to the Masai Mara and your next safari camp, Serian, the flagship camp of Alex Walker. The Masai Mara is Kenya’s most famous nature reserve, and one of the settings for the film Out of Africa. It is classic savannah – grasslands, where animals are plentiful and the vistas spectacular. In this dreamlike land, animals live in freedom, and the Masai tend their cattle. The area, also known as the “Jewel of Africa,” has one of the largest and the most spectacular animal migrations in the world. The reserve is known for its large wildlife, including lion, cheetah, elephant, leopard, black rhino and hippo. There are also over 500 resident species of birds in the park including ostrich, lark and sunbird.  The reserve which covers an area of 700 square miles forms part of the Serengeti ecosystem and hosts the world famous spectacle of the annual migration of up to two million wildebeest, thousands of zebra and an escort of carnivores from the Serengeti plains, following the rains and succulent new grass. A costly trek as many of the lame, laggard and sick will fall prey to predators and many more will die in the swirling flood waters of the Mara River as they try to cross it.  Whether you’re in the Maasai Mara during migration time, your wildlife viewing will be spectacular, as the resident population of zebra and wildebeest will be there, along with the predators. While here you may wish to indulge in a hot air balloon ride. Suspended in a basket beneath the balloon, you float over the plains and above the forest alongside the Mara River, checking out hippos, crocodiles and elephants from high above, to end with a champagne breakfast in the open grassland within the reserve. Other exciting optional activities include nature walks in a private reserve that is accessible only on foot, honey gathering with the Masai, or fishing.  Serian is base for a behavioural animal study “living with Lions – Mara Predator Project” and if you like, you will be taught how to identify lions and asked to submit their photos to contribute to the project. Not only are you are guaranteed an authentic bush experience at Serian Camp, but you will also have exclusive- use of your vehicle, guide and spotter while at camp ensuring that you can see and do precisely as you please, on your own schedule. Overnight in Masai Mara

Days 9-12: Kenya Coast 

Today you will be transferred to the Mara airstrip, where you will fly to the Ukunda Airstrip and transfer to a beach resort The Kenyan Coastline is a tropical paradise where palm fringed white sand beaches welcome visitors who come for the tropical weather, the teaming coral reefs, world class fishing and to be embraced by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. The offshore reefs are remarkable offering excellent snorkelling and diving where you can see brilliantly coloured fish, sea turtles, dolphins and dazzling coral gardens. Overnights in south coast

Day 13: Departure

Today is your final day in Africa! You will be driven to the Airstrip in time to catch your flight to the Wilson Airport back in Nairobi.  From there you’ll be transferred to the international airport for your departing flight back home.

• Accommodation as per itinerary
• National Park fees
• Meals as per itinerary (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)
• Professional guide
• Hotel/port pickup and drop-off
• Small-group tour

• Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
• Gratuities (recommended)
• Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
• Laundry
• International flights